[RitaNBoobear]

I'm a relatively new mommy. We've had both extremes. Sitting stubbornly at the end of a leash and or jetting off until the leash runs out and yanks her to a stop, (we used a soft neoprene vest harness that made me feel safe w/that). Somewhere hear I read that Cesar guy said keep the leash short and gently tug in direction you want to head in. And do not use treats as a bribe.

I wonder if you kept your leash short and walking metered? This worked for me. "Good Walk"... Also -- I've been told that Cesar's books help a lot on this topic and delivers a dog by your side. I was also told to never say "Good girl" but to be specific, not to over-talk to Boo and confuse her.

What I have found works: The first few (25 or so) walks i really had to give Boo time to get into it. No such thing as 10 minutes walks. And she was fascinated by every smell, every blade of grass. Took a long time for short distance. All or nothing, 0-10, not much in middle.

When she pulled forcefully, I took up slack, closed the gap and kinda forced her to slow her walk down, again gently but firmly, The more she pulled the more we slowly closed up the gap w/retractable leash. Again - slowly. Once she was walking forward, (still trying to pull but slowed down a bit) we say "Good walk" (even thought it wasn't the best :-)) so she gets that this is the type of walk that makes us happy.

Week Three: Now she trots happily right next to me or a bit in front of me. We give her much more leash and retract when we need to redirect her. She doesn't fight or resist any more and really loves her walks now.

We have 2 commands. When i want her to come back next to me, or off a lawn, the curb etc. we say "Sidewalk" w/tad of command tone, and I shorten the leash and sorta steer. The slight tug sensation (Really Slight but firm - sucking up slack) works, then lotsa of "Good Sidewalk" praise. If she is just a lump on end of the rope, i ask "Pick up"? and extend forearm. If she wants to be picked up she crawls up my arm. Usually that's when she is tired. Then more praise "Good Pick up", instead of just picking her up when i got frustrated, I either ask her or tell her and wait until she digests we are doign a pick up.

Now - if we head out for walk and she's a spaz, I head for space and let her burn it off for a few minutes.